Hi guys! Sarah here – founder and head of Without A Hitch. I don’t usually write in the first person about my experiences, but today you are in for a treat! :)​

You may remember a few months back when we posted about the key to building a registry. Our partnership with Circle Furniture is built around the importance of quality and setting up for success in the long-term. We’ve found that this is especially applicable to our wedding clients as they are often purchasing their first home or making upgrades as they enter this exciting next stage of their lives.

​Below I’ve outlined a bit about the actual experience that I had working with Circle and why I think you should check them out.

​I gave Circle a bit of a challenge from the start: I was moving and needed help deciding not just what pieces to get, but also how to lay out the space. The Framingham location is only a few minutes from my new place, so I got hooked up with Ann Marie Gillis, one of their design consultants. She invited me into the showroom to meet and discuss my needs. I have to admit…. I was really overwhelmed at that first meeting. I liked everything! But would it fit? Should I go mid-century modern? More classic? More contemporary? Nevermind the whole room of textile choices – there were thousands of custom upholstery fabrics to choose from.

Thank goodness I had Ann Marie to walk me through. We sat down and looked at photos/layouts of my new house while discuss what I actually needed. When she saw I was drawn to the dining room set near us, we went and sat at it. Sitting at the actual piece of furniture definitely helped it click in my mind – this would look great in my new space. I didn’t love the chairs that were with it so we played mix and match with other chairs from the showroom until we found the right fit. I can’t imagine ordering a piece as important as a dining set without first seeing it and sitting on it in person!​Before we placed the order, Ann Marie even offered to meet us at our new home. I knew the furniture would take several weeks on order, because it’s custom made here in the US. So before we even closed on the house, we popped in with Ann Marie. She brought all of her measuring tools and before we knew it, she had measured things we wouldn’t have even thought to (the distance between the window frame and the floor?!).

Within a week, we had a customized layout using Circle’s “Room Planner” showing not just where the Circle furniture would go, but also where our couch and bookshelf could be placed. There was a bit of back and forth (my husband wanted the couch to line up exactly with the fireplace, but I wanted it a bit more to the left to have more room for the dining room), and Ann Marie even suggested the perfect custom fabric so I didn’t get overwhelmed from the many options. After some compromises and moves, we made a decision and Ann Marie hit SUBMIT on the order.​She kept us updated throughout the order process and let us know that, despite the 8 weeks quoted, the order would be in a bit early and we scheduled an exact time for the delivery. No crazy 2-4 hour windows for me! When the drivers arrived, they were careful of our new hardwoods and our existing furniture, putting together the new table like the professionals they are and even helping me put fabric stickies on the bottom of each surface so we didn’t scratch the floor.

​The end product (and the process along the way) blows me away. I am so glad I made the decision to shop at this local, family-owned business and to support American craftspeople who created the furniture. We eat family dinner every night on our new chairs and look forward to many, many more celebrations around the dining room table.